App Helps Detect Anxiety Through Nervous System

So you can better cope.

Calming down once you’re having an anxiety attack is no easy task, but, just like anything else, there’s an app for that. According to Bustle, the Airo Health app aims to help you spot your anxiety triggers to help you better cope.

Airo, the app’s website says, helps you learn what stresses you out, and gives you coping tips. It does all this by tracking your nervous system via a bracelet you wear, meaning you’re getting a personalized look at exactly how your body reacts to your stress and anxiety triggers.

Bustle reports the app alerts you via a silent buzz when it detects signs of stress in your body. It can alert you to these signs before you even realize you’re experiencing them, Bustle reports. Once it alerts you to these physical signs, the app then guides you through coping methods, including telling you what times of day are best to practice these methods to deal with daily stressors.

The app’s website notes it will increase your productivity by giving you tools to keep calm and stay focused, but it also sends a powerful message. It proves that your mental health isn’t all in your head.

“It gives you back the control of your life, and it lets you objectively measure your anxiety so no one can say 'it's not real' or 'just get over it,'" an Airo representative told Bustle.

Of course, you don’t owe an explanation about your mental health to anyone. But with so much stigma surrounding mental health, seeing these physical signs of our mental health is a good reminder that this aspect of our wellbeing needs to be cared for just like any other part of our health. And these internal physical signs aren't the only ways our mental health impacts our body. Depression can actually cause physical aches and pains, while anxiety can cause fatigue, a rapid heart rate, and other physical symptoms.

Bustle also points out that a study found the body often experiences symptoms of anxiety and stress before the mind processes it. Those who are tuned in to those feelings in their body, the study found, are often better able to cope with and mitigate the symptoms. Basically, the more you know about your body and your mind, the better you're able to take care of yourself. That's good news all around.